Christianity and the Other Religions: Interreligious Relations in a Shrinking World

This article puts into sociological perspective the historical development of the increasingly tolerant and cooperative attitude of institutional Christianity toward the other religions in the twentieth century — most dramatically illustrated by the interreligious dialogue activities of the Vatican and the World Council of Churches since the 1960s. The article begins by presenting a set of sociological theories relevant to problems of global religiocultural change. These theories share a common emphasis on the linkage between pluralism and the generalization and universalization of beliefs and values evident in Christianity's changing posture toward the other religions. This is followed by a historical summary of Christianity's increasingly egalitarian relations with the other religions during the period spanning the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the present. The historical narrative focuses on the actions and doctrinal positions adopted by the official bodies of Christianity's two main traditions, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The article concludes by interpreting increasing interreligious tolerance and cooperativeness on the part of Christianity as a response to the crystallization of a pluralistic global religiocultural system.